Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[springbarb]

I don't hate Hunter. He's...fine. But that's about it. I don't think he brings anything to the table in these shows, and as such, I don't really like seeing him pop up on them. When he tastes something on DDD, for example, his comments on the food are probably about on par with what I would say, whereas Guy will point out some interaction among the ingredients or throw out an idea on GGG that the chefs can take. Hunter is just kind of there. I'm sure he's a totally competent chef, but that doesn't mean I want him on my tv all the time. If he appeared less frequently, I'd care less.

[Yeah No]

On 7/20/2020 at 1:03 PM, dvr devotee said:

I sincerely don't understand the level of vitriol towards Hunter on this thread. It's like he murdered your cat or something. 

Guy could have just given Hunter a cushy position in one of his restaurants as soon as he expressed any interest in cooking. Instead, Hunter graduated high school and went on to UNLV's Hospitality College, which is the highest ranked hospitality program in the country, and graduated with his Bachelor's last December. To be so highly ranked, I have to assume it's a rigorous program, and we haven't heard any rumors of Hunter being a crappy student who skated by on his dad's name and connections, so I have to assume Hunter earned his degree on his own merits.

Even after getting his degree, Guy could have given him a cushy job at one of his restaurants. He could have pulled strings to get him his own restaurant by now, to get Hunter started on his own restaurant empire. But he hasn't.

The kid is going to be 24 next month. I don't know about you all, but I was pretty damn cocky about how smart I was the first few years out of school and how I was going to set the world on fire. But 15 years later, that cockiness is long-gone, beaten out of me by the realities of the world. So a 24-year-old recent grad with a famous restaurateur father saying that he wants his own restaurant empire seems pretty par-for-the-course to me. I'm not going to call him lazy and entitled or a bad cook based upon the--what--maybe 12 total hours I've seen of him on TV over the last ten years. 

Maybe some of you do know Hunter personally and have formed your opinions based on your actual interactions with him. Maybe you've eaten his food for yourself. Or perhaps he did actually murder your cat. But if not, jeez, ease up a bit. 

There are two major points I want to make in reaction to your post.

First is, Hunter does not seem like a cocky guy to me who is ready to take the world on by storm.  In fact, he seems far from that.  He's actually pretty modest or at least he comes off that way.  Nor does he seem entitled.  I would say that at worst he seems a little too relaxed and confident of his future to be someone that isn't riding his famous dad's coattails to success, despite all the protestations about him not getting any perks because of his connections.  He is already getting perks by being featured on TV alongside his famous dad, so those arguments come off as disingenuous at best.  He has every advantage that most people don't have right off the bat.  He doesn't have to be handed an empire to reap the benefits of those advantages.  And he knows it, so he knows he doesn't have to bust his butt to get anywhere.  Somehow the success will come.  He can afford to kick back and relax on his dad's couch and make unmemorable comments about past episode of GGG.

Secondly, and I might be speaking for others here, but I think some of the reaction to him here is coming from people in the over 55 age bracket (I'm 62), and it's my experience that we as a group tend to bristle at someone that seems to be going through the motions in order to appear like they're earning their way to success when it looks like their dad will largely responsible for making it happen.  However in spite of that, maybe with one or two exceptions, it didn't seem to me like most of us here aren't willing to give him a chance.  We're just saying that he has to do a little more to prove himself as a chef and/or restaurateur in his own right.  Once he does, fine, we'll accept that he's not just coasting through on his dad's success.  It's only if he continues along his current path that he won't get our respect.  Also keep in mind that people in my age bracket don't consider 24 "too young" to have made a little more progress toward that end.  Even on shows like "Top Chef" there are driven young chefs that have achieved far more by that age than he has.  

[Gramto6]

The replay show has Carl Ruiz on it. It makes me so sad to see him and think how much I miss him . RIP Carl I wish they would let you rest and not rerun all your shows. Seems gratuitous to me. Lord knows they have so many other shows in the can they can skip Carl's.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Gramto6

[Maverick]

Personal opinion, but I don't see anything wrong with airing them.  It's an entertainment show and he's entertaining people. It's not deragatory to him, if anything it's a tribute.  TV shows and movies aren't locked in a vault when someone in them dies.  Most people would be glad someone still gets enjoyment watching them even after they've passed. 

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

The replay show has Carl Ruiz on it. It makes me so sad to see him and think how much I miss him . RIP Carl I wish they would let you rest and not rerun all your shows. Seems gratuitous to me. Lord knows they have so many other shows in the can they can skip Carl's.

I know how you feel, Gram, it makes me sad to see him and right now I don't need any more sad things, but I don't blame them for showing them as I think it's nice that they're not forgetting about him.  Plus I can always skip over those episodes.

[Ashforth]

On 8/12/2020 at 9:13 PM, Gramto6 said:

The replay show has Carl Ruiz on it. It makes me so sad to see him and think how much I miss him . RIP Carl I wish they would let you rest and not rerun all your shows. Seems gratuitous to me. Lord knows they have so many other shows in the can they can skip Carl's.

I understand your feelings @Gramto6, but Carl was on so many GGG shows and was always a joyous presence, he deserves to be remembered. He respected the contestants and won most of the GGG competitions he participated in, and was apparently one of Guy's closest friends. Not only would it leave a huge hole in the GGG episode bank to trash the shows he was on, but I think it would be a terrible mistake to pretend he never existed. This is part of his legacy and people should be able to still see him and appreciate the person he was even though he has died.

Sure, it is bittersweet, but when a family member or close friend dies, do we burn all of the photographs or videos they were in? Letters that they wrote? Forbid others to speak of them? When mourning a loss, the memories of the deceased person can bring both tears and laughter. They are precious. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Ashforth
Changed "you" to "we" in the last paragraph to make clear that this is a rhetorical question, not something aimed personally at @gramto6

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

Personal opinion, but I don't see anything wrong with airing them.  It's an entertainment show and he's entertaining people. It's not deragatory to him, if anything it's a tribute.  TV shows and movies aren't locked in a vault when someone in them dies.  Most people would be glad someone still gets enjoyment watching them even after they've passed. 

OK I get that, it just hurts my heart to see him.  But on that note I still love seeing him again.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

OK I get that, it just hurts my heart to see him.  But on that note I still love seeing him again.

I feel the same way about Tony Bourdain.  I followed him since his first show on FN a zillion years ago so losing him was even more traumatic for me than losing Carl and that was bad enough.

[Grizzly]

Celeb chef budget battle. Michael Voltaggio wore baggy, leather pants! How skinny is that dude? I like it better when Guy's friends compete for charity than when he gives them the money. They get paid when they judge, yes?

[HyeChaps]

The prince:

https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/meet-hunter-fieri-guy-fieris-son-and-the-prince-of-flavortown/

[Ashforth]

Oh, dear.

[mlp]

Oh, brother.  I can't blame Guy, as a father, wanting to give his kid a leg up but Hunter is not ready for prime time.  He's dull.  For some reason, I thought he'd been to culinary school but, if that article is correct, his degree is on the business side, not the cooking side.  If Guy has him help with the games and so on, fine.  If he seats Hunter as a judge and equal to working chefs who have earned their right to criticize other chefs, I will be disgusted.

[jlc]

7 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

The prince:

https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/meet-hunter-fieri-guy-fieris-son-and-the-prince-of-flavortown/

So he did not learn hard work from his father. He is planning to take over his father's shows, the ones he worked hard to make work and stay popular, and he plans on working in his fathers friends restaurants. What exactly is he going to use his father's work ethic to achieve? Oh and he has made himself the Prince of Flavortown because he did what? Made his own breakfast after his father gave him the recipe. Hhhmmmm.........

[emmawoodhouse]

Nepotism at its finest. 

[LexieLily]

Side note: the post-pandemic version of GGG they are describing sounds like it would be a major letdown for contestants.

[Maverick]

 This dude has all the personality of a wet noodle.  Guy has tried not make other people with much more screen presence and likeability happen and failed.  Likewise FN unsuccessfully kept trying to capture lightning in a bottle again until they finally gave up on FNS.  Guy may have a lot of clout with FN but if the ratings suck, no amount of Guy's jockeying is going to get Hunter his own show.  

 The pandemic version sounds like the home game version of Chopped (sponsored by the meal delivery kit company of the week).  It also sounds awful. 

[Gramto6]

25 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Side note: the post-pandemic version of GGG they are describing sounds like it would be a major letdown for contestants.

Where did you see the info onpost-pandemic GGG?

[LexieLily]

23 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 This dude has all the personality of a wet noodle.  Guy has tried not make other people with much more screen presence and likeability happen and failed.  Likewise FN unsuccessfully kept trying to capture lightning in a bottle again until they finally gave up on FNS.  Guy may have a lot of clout with FN but if the ratings suck, no amount of Guy's jockeying is going to get Hunter his own show.  

 The pandemic version sounds like the home game version of Chopped (sponsored by the meal delivery kit company of the week).  It also sounds awful. 

 

12 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Where did you see the info onpost-pandemic GGG?

Right now, Hunter is focused on “expand[ing] the Flavortown horizon.” “Guy’s Grocery Games” has been adapted for a post-pandemic world: The contestants get baskets of food delivered to them, and Hunter and Guy will video chat with them while they compete in recipe challenges for the chance to win $20,000.

[Gramto6]

3 hours ago, LexieLily said:

 

Right now, Hunter is focused on “expand[ing] the Flavortown horizon.” “Guy’s Grocery Games” has been adapted for a post-pandemic world: The contestants get baskets of food delivered to them, and Hunter and Guy will video chat with them while they compete in recipe challenges for the chance to win $20,000.

Thanks, I yawned out before I got that far in the article. That sounds like a totally boring version of the show!

[LexieLily]

23 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Thanks, I yawned out before I got that far in the article. That sounds like a totally boring version of the show!

Like all the shows that are having to adjust to the new standards I totally understand why it needs to be done and thank everyone invovled for taking safety standards seriously, but anyone signing up for a competition show this year is getting gipped. IMO. Especially the talent competition shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. 

[emmawoodhouse]

My question is, how does the food get judged? How is a winner determined if the contestants are cooking from their hometowns?

Edited September 28, 2020 by emmawoodhouse
Off is not if

[Maverick]

 The article says the win for the best recipe.  

 Most competition shows back in production are largely unaffected to the viewers, save for the absence of a live audience.   For some shows that a big deal (like The Price Is Right) and for others it's mostly a non-event (like Jeopardy).  

 ABC was able to produce Supermarket Sweep under Covid restrictions so I'm a little surprised they went this route, which just sounds like a variation on what they did to get some eps for DDD early on. 

[LexieLily]

15 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

My question is, how does the food get judged? How is a winner determined if the contestants are cooking from their hometowns?

My question is: are they just giving the winners 20K since they can't do the run around the grocery store?

[emmawoodhouse]

5 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 The article says the win for the best recipe.  

 Most competition shows back in production are largely unaffected to the viewers, save for the absence of a live audience.   For some shows that a big deal (like The Price Is Right) and for others it's mostly a non-event (like Jeopardy).  

 ABC was able to produce Supermarket Sweep under Covid restrictions so I'm a little surprised they went this route, which just sounds like a variation on what they did to get some eps for DDD early on. 

So are Guy and Hunter going to cook them and judge? And yeah, are they just going to do tough trivia to hand out the cash?

[Yeah No]

7 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 The article says the win for the best recipe.  

Wait, what?  How will they know it's a "best recipe"?  I can usually spot a good recipe but a lot of times the proof is in how it tastes.  Are Hunter and Guy duplicating the recipes and then tasting them?  Because it's not much of a competition if there's no tasting.

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Like all the shows that are having to adjust to the new standards I totally understand why it needs to be done and thank everyone invovled for taking safety standards seriously, but anyone signing up for a competition show this year is getting gipped. IMO. Especially the talent competition shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, etc. 

At least on DWTS the judges are actually watching the contestants dance and judging them on their performance.  Unless I missed something, here they're going to watch people cook remotely and then decide who has the "best recipe".  It would be like submitting the choreography for a dance routine and then having the judges decide which one is the best without seeing them actually dance.  In other words:  SNORE.

[LexieLily]

Not even taking into account all the fun (or "fun") games that can't be done now if they are just being sent a random box of food, I didn't even think about what y'all have said about how they determine best dish. At least on the takeout version of DDD the chefs all send the food to Guy and Guy/Hunter just have to assemble. This sounds like it's going to be dumb.

[joanne3482]

I saw an ad for the upcoming one with the judges. It looks kind of fun. They showed excessively tattooed Voltaggio, Antonia, Maneet and I feel like maybe Greenspan, but I'm not positive about him.  They each got a big box of ingredients and we got to see them in their home kitchens. 

[Maverick]

 The home show was... awful.   It was really awkward listening to the judges comment on dishes they can't taste.  And to make matters worse, the chefs taste their own dish and describe it.  Like I'm sure someone is going to say that tasted like crap, what was I thinking. And the worst part is having Hunter play Vanna White to Guy's Pat Sajak. Just show reruns if this is the best they can do. 

[joanne3482]

I have a fairly low bar for TV entertainment; I thought it was kind of fun. I liked seeing their houses. I liked they had a limit on how many ingredients they could take from their own kitchen, but it was kind of neat to see what kind of things they had. Yes, none of them would have said their food was disgusting and a couple did sound a little weird, but it had nice camaraderie for me. I liked the little twist for the winner to gamble it. I have no real opinion on Hunter. It worked for mindless Wednesday night TV. 

[FormerMod-a1]

I liked it better than I thought I would.  I found it interesting the judges looked like they were on a regular Zoom type call and web set up, but those cooking looked like they had better cameras and camera people operating them (I'm assuming they were other members of the household, just pointing out what looked different to me). 

[mlp]

I enjoyed it.  I thought the producers did a good job of keeping the GGG vibe and I got a kick out of seeing the chefs in their own kitchens with time to make comments and just be themselves.  The judging portion isn't really satisfactory but I don't know what else they can do given the circumstances.  

Hunter is useless.  He might as well not be there as he adds nothing.  And he needs to shave off that ugly mustache.  

[emmawoodhouse]

4 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

I liked it better than I thought I would.  I found it interesting the judges looked like they were on a regular Zoom type call and web set up, but those cooking looked like they had better cameras and camera people operating them (I'm assuming they were other members of the household, just pointing out what looked different to me). 

There were professional cameras involved. Saw glimpses of them at Voltaggio's place.

[Grizzly]

No one on House Hunters would buy based on those kitchens. Jet's looked the best. Antonia's was too dark, cluttered, and cramped. Noticed she was the only one who chowed down on her burger. The guys were smart to show how done their meat was. I'd pay money if one of the chefs spits out their food and admits it's bad.

[Yeah No]

I liked the at home episode to a point, but the tasting part of it was disappointing and detracted from the rest of the fun of it.  It would be better if guy put his useless son to work helping him cook the concoctions afterward using the same ingredients and them having a tasting.  It wouldn't occur in real time then but there are ways they could iron out the details to make it work, like score them on all the other factors in real time, then maybe cook the highest two scorers and decide from there, editing that part in at the end of the show.  I just can't see this being entertaining past a few weeks.  It's going to get more disappointing as time goes on, IMHO.

I think the disappointing kitchens might have something to do with high home values in their zip codes.  Antonia's house looked like a converted shipping container from the outside.

[Gramto6]

Last week's show  was OK, this week was kind of meh...I just don't see this going for very long. If you don't/can't taste the food how can you really decide a winner.  This format may work for a few shows, but I can see it getting old really fast.

[Ashforth]

1 hour ago, Gramto6 said:

Last week's show  was OK, this week was kind of meh...I just don't see this going for very long. If you don't/can't taste the food how can you really decide a winner.  This format may work for a few shows, but I can see it getting old really fast.

I didn't see the show last week, but watched tonight. It's enjoyable to watch the chefs figure out what to do with the ingredients and the constraints of the challenges, but it is weird that the judges comment as if they have tasted the food. I agree that this will quickly get old.

[Maverick]

 Why wasn't Malarkey wearing his bow tie?   Distracting.

 

 I just don't like Brooke.  There's just something off putting about her.   Tonight her annoyingness was more overt.   First, she made me feel like I was in that Progressive Becoming Your Parents Commercial (PINK.  She has pink hair).   Second, did you know she won the Tournament of Champions?    Because she won the Tournament of Champions.  And that means she should be able to beat anybody else in the world.  But if that's the case Princess TOC, why are you even bothering with the farce of cooking?  You're going to beat everyone anyway so they should just hand you the $20k and show a rerun of DDD.   Oh wait, except you didn't win.  It must be rigged.

[mlp]

12 minutes ago, Maverick said:

I just don't like Brooke.  There's just something off putting about her.

I thought it was just me.  I haven't liked her since her first go round on Top Chef and she's become more smug since.  I'd love to know what the regular FN chefs really think of her.

Malarkey makes me laugh.  He's very successful both as a chef and a businessman but he carries on like a goofy kid.  It tickles me somehow that he has the self-confidence to do that.

I was happy that Aaron won.  His dish looked best to me and I've always liked him.  He looks like he's put all the weight he lost back on.  

[joanne3482]

On 10/14/2020 at 9:04 PM, Gramto6 said:

If you don't/can't taste the food how can you really decide a winner.  This format may work for a few shows, but I can see it getting old really fast.

I was even excited for it, but having watched 2 episodes now I'm in agreement. It is kind of meh. (I still like looking at their kitchens though)

[Ashforth]

Just saw an old DDD with Hunter at about age 12? With braces. He was so cute! Maybe unlike most kids he skipped over that "awkward phase" and it finally hit him in his early 20's. I don't have an active dislike for Hunter, but he is not a good looking dude at this point.

[jlc]

11 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Just saw an old DDD with Hunter at about age 12? With braces. He was so cute! Maybe unlike most kids he skipped over that "awkward phase" and it finally hit him in his early 20's. I don't have an active dislike for Hunter, but he is not a good looking dude at this point.

To me, the problem with Hunter are his expectations. He is expecting his father to set him up in some cushy job without doing any of the work to get there. That is partially Guy's fault for never requiring Hunter to actually accomplish anything on his own. Even going to college Hunter went to the same program his father did, and his father supports with money and publicity every year, so you can imagine that school was probably a little easier for Hunter than it was for other students. He just has no ambition, no drive, no desire to accomplish anything on his own, and that is the problem with Hunter, in my opinion.

[Ashforth]

6 hours ago, jlc said:

He just has no ambition, no drive, no desire to accomplish anything on his own, and that is the problem with Hunter, in my opinion.

How is it that you know Hunter? I'm curious. I've only seen him on TV, so I have no personal knowledge of his psyche.  My comment was only about what a cute kid he was as a tween.

I have read an article or two in which he was interviewed as an adult that made him sound plenty ambitious. He didn't seem to think that he wasn't going to have to work hard to be successful.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Ashforth

[jlc]

1 hour ago, Ashforth said:

How is it that you know Hunter? I'm curious. I've only seen him on TV, so I have no personal knowledge of his psyche.  My comment was only about what a cute kid he was as a tween.

I have read an article or two in which he was interviewed as an adult that made him sound plenty ambitious. He didn't seem to think that he wasn't going to have to work hard to be successful.

But you know him well enough to call him ugly from only seeing him on his father's shows. 

[Ashforth]

5 minutes ago, jlc said:

But you know him well enough to call him ugly from only seeing him on his father's shows. 

Well, I have eyes 🤣 I don't need to know him personally to think he isn't handsome.* And I didn't say he's ugly, just that I think he's not good looking. I think he's average looking. I'm not making any judgments on his character or whether he has ever accomplished anything on his own, such as graduating from college, because I know nothing about that.

*Of course, he may have such intense charisma that if one meets him in person, he is stunningly attractive. 😉

[Yeah No]

Well I don't find Hunter particularly attractive from a looks perspective, plus I don't find his personality as depicted on TV particularly attractive either.

I have posted before that he doesn't project the drive of someone who is ambitious and looking to make a name for themselves.  He just seems to passively accept whatever his father wants him to do on the show.  He may act differently off the show, but he acts so consistently passive, blah and lackadaisical on the show that I'd personally find it hard to believe that he's any different IRL.  To me it seems like he's humoring his father appearing on the show and half thinking that he doesn't have to put in a lot of effort to "inherit" success from his father either.  His real ambitions, as hinted at in articles written about him, may actually lie elsewhere but we're not seeing him doing those things on the show.  But again, I'd still find it hard to believe that he has any other real ambitions based on what I've seen of him.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

My favorite part of the most recent episode - The dog asleep under the scoreboard while they're tallying the votes.  Score another one for at-home pandemic shows.

[FormerMod-a1]

Wow, Simon's kitchen is tiny!  And somehow I didn't realize Justin lived in S Dakota.  We're almost neighbors (I live in MN 😄 ).  In looking at the score board this episode I realized "game play" is the biggest chunk of points and "taste" is a smaller portion and that makes total sense in this kind of set up.  So now I don't feel so bad about the taste component.  I did feel a little bad for Simon though.  I thought his dishes looked really good.  

[mlp]

I enjoyed this episode including Guy stepping over the sleeping dog.  🙂  Damaris's house looks just like I'd picture it - cozy and normal.  I thought Justin lived in NYC.  I wonder how and why and when he relocated to SD.  His kitchen looked a little cluttered for my tastes but it was laid out well.  Simon's kitchen is tiny.  Yike.  I follow him on FB and he often posts pictures of whatever he made the night before.  It never occurred to me that he cooks in a space the size of my hall bathroom.  I've often thought that, of all the people on FN, he's the one I'd most like to meet.  I'll bet he's fascinating to talk to.  His books are amusing.

[Yeah No]

18 hours ago, mlp said:

I enjoyed this episode including Guy stepping over the sleeping dog.  🙂  Damaris's house looks just like I'd picture it - cozy and normal.  I thought Justin lived in NYC.  I wonder how and why and when he relocated to SD.  His kitchen looked a little cluttered for my tastes but it was laid out well.  Simon's kitchen is tiny.  Yike.  I follow him on FB and he often posts pictures of whatever he made the night before.  It never occurred to me that he cooks in a space the size of my hall bathroom.  I've often thought that, of all the people on FN, he's the one I'd most like to meet.  I'll bet he's fascinating to talk to.  His books are amusing.

I was curious as to why Justin is living in South Dakota, then I found out his wife is from there - maybe he was just staying there at that moment?   He certainly made a mess out of that kitchen!

I couldn't believe how Simon has a kitchen as small or smaller than one I had years ago that I used to think was the smallest kitchen in the world - and how he managed to get a full sized fridge in there too!

Again with the "lazy, sleeping dog", LOL.  Love it!  😄 

[suebee1212]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I was curious as to why Justin is living in South Dakota, then I found out his wife is from there - maybe he was just staying there at that moment?   He certainly made a mess out of that kitchen!

I do a bit of looking to see if I could find out what he was doing there and here is what I discovered.

 

https://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/celebrity-chef-sharing-story-of-beef/article_7fbce2f0-b9ff-11e9-a239-6f441dc2bcf6.html